rock

Following the announcement of their album, Asking Alexandria have announced the title and have released another song. The new record will be self-titled and is set for a 15th December release. The album is the first to have original frontman Danny Worsnop back after his departure in 2015.

The new song released today is called Where Did It Go? and throws some serious shade at modern metal bands… It sounds a bit like this:

Dutch three-piece Paceshifters were first up on the bill with their energetic alt-rock anthems being belted out at the ever-filling venue. Despite being first up, the band has been going longer than any of the other projects by a considerable margin but that hasn’t made them look tired; brothers Paul and Seb Dokman co-fronting the show brings a warm connection with not only each other but with the audience, and a portion of the audience fell in love with the fraternity all three members seemed to have onstage. Drummer Jesper Albers is by no means the odd-one-out alongside the siblings either – his hard-hitting drumbeats and phenomenal energy showed off he was the best drummer of the night’s bill. Finishing off with a guest appearance from The Patience guitarist Evan Nestor to play a Nirvana cover A punchy and momentum-building tour for them, no doubt. [8/10]

Next up, bringing his stripped-down stage show to the UK stage was Derek Zanetti (better known as The Homeless GospelChoir) who possesses unique stage presence which just makes every member of the audience feel at ease with his style and grace. Very much the US Frank Turner in terms of song-style, his recorded music varies from acoustic to full-band but his stage show is an incredibly vulnerable, heart-on-his-sleeve affair with breaks mid-song to talk to the crowd. The stop-start nature is anything but a disappointment though, and it felt like he became a friend to every audience member watching on in his time onstage performing songs largely from his latest album The Homeless Gospel Choir Presents: Normal. A fantastic talent with some very poignant opinions and stories to share, someone to never miss if he’s touring. [9/10]

Punk frontman Dave Hause may have only been with The Mermaid as a band since February, but the last show on the tour before he departed was his 111th of the year with them – not bad going for a new band. The diversity in his catalogue was evident throughout with some songs having hints of Bryan Adams in them and others being far more middle-of-the-road rock and roll styling, but Hause‘s frontman capabilities are completely evident throughout every single song. His display of Rickenbacker, Gibson and Nash guitars showed his experience and commitment to the road after all these years, and storming through songs from each of his solo albums proved his songwriting prowess. Dedicating fan-favourite Dirty Fucker to Donald Trump proved popular, but not as popular as him giving out free shirts throughout the song because he didn’t want to take them back home to the US. A cover of Tom Petty seemed a fitting tribute as members of The Patience came out to make a giant supergroup of the two bands. A classy set from a band that will definitely make their name on the road with ease if they choose to stick together as The Mermaid. [9/10]

Now infamous in his own right after 2 stellar albums and fresh of the back of his first EP, Frank Iero and his band The Patience came out to a lot of excited fans and immediately broke into World Destroyer to kick off one of the best punk rock sets Nottingham has seen in recent years. The no-holds-barred, sing-scream-shout blend of Frank’s vocals brings the level of excitement through the roof and the backing of long-time guitarist Evan Nestor brings a stage chemistry to rival many of the biggest bands in the world right now. A The Replacements cover with Dave Hause and a rendition of The Beatles‘ Helter Skelter threw some proof of their cultured influences (as if they needed the proof anyway), and the emotional performance of Best Friends Forever proved a set highlight – a song cowritten with his daughters back in 2014. Between songs, the chats with the crowd and accepting beers from the crowd just demonstrates Frank is one of the last true punk rockers onstage in 2017 – a sad reality but he is keeping the breed alive. Fantastic set from a fantastic band, The Patience are one of the most exciting touring bands right now. [9/10]

Following a long period of playing shows with no big releases, emo/grunge mob Muskets are back with their debut full-length album CHEW, which quickly establishes its dominance over the modern grunge scene. Opening track Pond Drop features chunky guitar sounds with altered chords for a slightly eerie tone. First single 17 Years follows this up, showing the more brutal side of this album which is more reminiscent of 2014 EP Spin. The track itself was released about a year ago before the album prep was complete and this version is a rerecording on the new label to go with the album. The gruff vocals that dominate the chorus and the crunchy bass tone through the bridge show Muskets at their best are a force to be reckoned with.

The guitar and bass tones shine throughout the album on every track; the bass introductions to 17 Years and Decay are distorted and groove-laden but even under the loud, punky Chewing Gum it beats away to underpin the sliding leads. In the same way, throughout intros like Breathing the guitar is a dirty hum of chording with lead sections in You’re So Cool are packed with a shimmery shoegaze tone that sounds fantastic over the top of the rest of the beat.

At the more punk end of the album’s spectrum, Frankie Stable is a fast, dynamic track with a bit more of the “let’s keep this sloppy and see how it goes” feel that defines Muskets in the market today. The first verse is a fairly high, shouted section that breaks into slower, groovy chorus to make a smooth blend of tuned and raw that works to great effect. Closing the album with Umbilical saves the slowest for last but is by no means the least of the tracks. The trippy end piece plays the album out with a mellow guitar feedback section with a slow bassline thudding away to finish off the collection.

Perhaps the most notable thing about the whole album (as with the rest of the band’s discography to date) is the rare addition of Anglicised vocals throughout CHEW which comes as a welcome break from the faux-American accents put on by a lot of UK vocalists across the genres. Hearing the UK origins in a band is particularly satisfying when they have such great natural potential.

Overall the only real criticism that can be made of the album is that it lacks stylistic variety, but the fact it’s their debut album just goes to show they’ve found their sound throughout the last few years and have made a mastery of it before releasing the full-length. A fantastic delivery on the promise their single and EP showed, very exciting emerging UK talent on display.

Frank Iero has always dreamed of working with Steve Albini, and when he finally got the chance he put together a combination of a recent single, an old rarity track, an unreleased song and a cover to give the producer a platform to produce his magic with the band. The EP comes less than a year after The Patience‘s second album Parachutes (which we rated a solid 9) ahead of their European tour over the next few months.

Opening the EP is Parachutes track I’m A Mess which is already a fan favourite before this release, but the Albini-influenced version has the raw feel of a live track with what sounds like a natural reverb underlying the dry recording. That aside, there isn’t much difference between the regular studio recording but a good performance of the song which is made almost more gritty with the odd error here and there as could be expected live. Following up is a piece that Frank released back in 2014 as a solo song which featured his twin daughters Lily and Cherry, titled BFF. This version is far more upbeat as a band version tends to be, giving a sense of gravity to Iero’s pained lyric “things just don’t feel right when you’re not by my side” among others.

The most hardcore-influenced of the four songs on the EP comes under the title No Fun Club third on the tracklist. The signature Frank far away/distorted screaming sound fills any empty space left by the heavy distortion on all the guitar and bass sounds throughout to produce a fast, punky feel for the minute and a half it takes up. Closing up the EP with a classic Johnny Cash cover, Iero has the fuzz-filled guitar tone for which he has become infamous since his My Chemical Romance days. Resting on a lilting tempo, the version has been performed live a fair number of times but the capturing of the emotion in the frontman’s voice ensnares the essential essence of The Patience and everything they do: messy, rough yet perfectly imperfect in the best way.

As their fifth self-titled album under the The Bronx branch of their music, fans are expecting the latest album by the LA punks to be refined and high quality – two features which come in abundance in just about every track.

Opening track Night Drop at the Glue Factory is raw and overdriven from the start, before introducing distorted vocals that bring the sound almost to a hardcore-influenced Foo Fighters vibe which is executed fantastically. Fuzz-fuelled solos and hard-hit pacey drum parts. The seamless transition into Stranger Danger is the first but most certainly not the last, as the five-piece glide seamlessly between sub-genres with every track.

The album demonstrates something for everyone: hardcore elements in Sore Throat, a power-blues feel in Broken Arrow, some softer (almost indie) rock aspects in Side Effects that would fit immaculately into any time of day on Radio X among others, and tracks including Two Birds and Channel Islands have tones almost resembling classic 80’s crunch rock sounds to bring the album a retro side with wah ripping up and down through the frequency bands to provide a depth to the riff sounds throughout all of the guitar fill work present on the song.

It is often easy to pick some standout pieces from albums to separate the wheat from the chaff ahead of listeners’ first experience, but every song on BRVNX is just as strong as each other – the deciding factor on a favourite for fans is likely to be which subgenres of rock they prefer most and how they like the band’s execution of said style!

Vocally, the album is just as diverse as the instrumental styles. Frontman Matt Caughthran manages to pitch his vocal frequencies to cut through the mix through every style of rock The Bronx display so well, showing his diversity when contrasting more hardcore tracks like Sore Throat which features fairly heavily distorted sounds the whole way through with Side Effects which provides far more melodic and dry vocal work.

In terms of production, the band have gelled amazingly with Rob Schnapf (Beck, FIDLAR) to create a collection that showcases the various points of talent they hold in a style where they seem incredibly comfortable. Seamless transitions between elements in every song illustrate the songwriting capabilities they have been honing over the past fifteen years and it feels like that side of The Bronx has come into fruition now more than ever in this cycle.

Overall, the confidence and songwriting prowess of all involved have made this album a force to be reckoned with – a certain contender for a lot of ‘album of the year’ lists!

Taking to the stage first was Midlands acoustic man Luke Rainsford who brought in a fair crowd considering he was first up and had come a long way. Opening with Home Safe, Luke played through material from both of his full length albums with aplomb as he always does, blowing away both fans and first timers alike with his honest lyrics and catchy hooks. Closing with his personal favourite track Frame, Luke looked as though he was going to cry as he screamed out “I know that I’ll never learn” to an already emotional crowd as the cathartic close to a set that always seems to short from his restrictions – just about the only criticism that can be made about his live shows. [9/10]

ICYMI took to the stage in the difficult situation of following Rainsford, but the energy and vocal ability of frontwoman Elin Allan stood them in good stead for the set to follow. Playing through their tracks proved to be fairly hit and miss up to their cover of NSYNC‘s Bye Bye Bye (yes, really) which turned the whole set around. The version featured heavy guitars and the attitude of Allan shining through to sweeten the crowd up before finishing with their single Get Out to finish off the set. The band have big things coming towards the end of this year, so keep an eye out – they’re one for the future. [7/10]

As the only local band of the night, pop punkers All These Years took to the stage. It appeared throughout that the band weren’t particularly well known among the onlookers but pretty quickly gained some fans with their more punk-influenced tracks as they hopped about the stage being generally offensive in the best possible way. Playing through the material from both EPs and latest single What Was Left Unsaid, All These Years put life into what was previously a fairly still crowd, perfectly filling their role as a support for the show. [8/10]

Coming off the back of their debut EP release a couple of weeks ago, touring newcomers Maypine were absolutely filled with confidence hitting the Camden attic’s stage. They played through the EP’s five tracks with a couple of additional originals, but the real gem in the set was their emo rendition of Fix You by Coldplay which they released back in July (if you’re curious, listen here). The set was filled with enthusiasm, talent and hope – qualities that can are lacking in a lot of new touring bands, which are virtually never captured in the same capacity as Maypine have them. [9/10]

Finishing up the night came Better Than Never who, surprisingly, drew less of a crowd than Maypine though the remaining audience were the rowdiest of the night by some margin. Blasting through both EPs, frontman James Harris bounced around with no visible intention of slowing down as he hyped up the crowd. Later, some growls mid-song produced a few looks of confusion from those not fully aware of Forty Eight from the band’s latest collection Head Under Water as they expected more pop punk tracks, but that didn’t subtract from any enjoyment on anyone’s faces. Towards the end of the set, Luke Rainsford was floating around the front of the crowd making gestures before he (somewhat unsurprisingly) made another appearance to duet Panama with Harris. A good performance to round off the night. [8/10]

Portsmouth’s Pop Punkers High Down have recently released their newest single; Life Lessons from their EP Moving On. Having gained some serious momentum since their appearance on the pop punk circuit last year, the band have played shows at the likes of Butserfest, Fat Lip Fest and Teddy Rocks Fest and show no sign of slowing down with this track. Check out Life Lessons below:

That’s right, Frank Iero and the Patience will be releasing brand new material less than a year after their 2016 debut album (since the name change), Parachutes.

The new songs will collectively be known as the Keep The Coffins Coming EP which will hit the shelves on 22nd September this year via Hassle Records who released Parachutes last year. The collection also features artwork designed by Krokodil guitarist and BBC Radio 1 Rock Show’s Daniel P Carter.

Frank said: “When we were done touring .stomachaches., I talked to my manager Paul about what we should do. I had my bucket list and one of the things on there was to work with Steve Albini. Paul asked how long I’d wanted to work with Steve and I was like, ‘Since I was, like, eleven!’ I wanted to make a Steve Albini record. Paul said he’d call him and I was like, ‘You can’t do that… that would be weird. Don’t do it.’ And he was like, ‘That’s my job!’ He called him, Steve said he could do it and he had three days. Next phone call I made was U-Haul; I fuckin’ packed the U-Haul up and drove the band to Chicago. I got to record an EP with my friends and one of my heroes in this giant firehouse building in Chicago. The EP is this missing link between .stomachaches. and Parachutes. It’s everything I wanted it to be. It’s fuckin’ awesome!”

It’s pretty safe to say Rise Records have had a couple of huge weeks these last couple of weeks with quality and quantity both breaking out of its roster.

First up is The Gospel Youth who released their stunning new album on the 14th July – their debut on Rise as well as their first full length. Always Lose comes as a follow-up to the twelve crowdfunded singles in twelve months that made the group their name, becoming renowned as the up-and-coming British rock band with their honest lyrics and catchy hooks. In addition to the whole album, they’ve released a video for the track Your Love Was A Cancer which was filmed on this year’s Vans Warped Tour. The band are currently still out on the road for another couple of weeks on that run until it closes on 6th August.

Goldfinger have made a monumental comeback with their first album in nine years titled The Knife which was released yesterday. Since 2008’s Hello Destiny, the band have been working on songs to supply other artists as well as frontman John Feldmann’s infamous production work for the likes of 5 Seconds of Summer and Black Veil Brides. The new album itself features appearances from Mighty Mighty Boss Tones guitarist Nate Albert and a near-whole album performance from blink-182‘s Travis Barker on drums amongst others, and was released on Rise yesterday (21st July). The latest single from the album is called Put The Knife Away which easily demonstrates how Goldfinger have grown since that last album with huge gang vocals and a more poppy feel throughout that almost verges on blink-182 sounds.

Silverstein released a brand new album on the 14th July through Rise as well, titled Dead Reflection which comes 17 years into their veteran career. Latest single Mirror Box was also put out at the same time, a song which demonstrates the band’s melodies while remaining heavy in many ways. Silverstein will be on tour in North America, UK and EU for the rest of the year so check out dates here.

Palisades have released a new music video, this time for their song Better Chemicals. It features on their self-titled third album which was released on the label earlier this year. The band are currently on tour with Japan’s ONE OK ROCK in the US, and will be returning to the UK in August for the annual Reading & Leeds festival.